esamirfandomcom-20200213-history
The Song of Jahan
The Song of Jahan (آهنگ جاهان in Ajanic; also known as جاحننامه , the Jahanama, or Book of Jahan) is an Ajanic epic poem, one of the most ancient and most famous of the whole Ajanic mythology, to which it is a sort of foundation. Together with the Song of Shalimar and the legends pertaining to Kalihaan Jahan Shah, it forms the so-called Holy Triad of Ajanic mythology and tradition. Although derived from a mix of oral myths and legends dating from the beginning of Ajanic civilization (including some dating from before their migration through into Tarajan), the Song saw its first, extensive trasposition into written form during the reign of Humyat Jahan Shah (401-423), by the hand of the court poet Ferdowsi. Although divided in two main parts, with the birth of Jahan set as the link between them, the young god is clearly the protagonist of the whole story, which focuses on his love for Shraman, daugther of the powerful God-king Arzimakil, and Jahan's fight against the latter to avenge his father and ensure the Ajanic domination of the Plain of Kashair, even at the expense of his own love. The ideology behind the Song The importance of the Song is not the exclusive result of its undoubt artistic qualities. The most important reason of its success (both in the past and until our days) is that it gives a mythical legitimation for the Ajanic conquest of Kashair and their subsequent expansion into what was to become Tarajan, a legitimation deeply rooted inside the Ajanic religion and beliefs. Together with the legitimation of the Ajanic conquest, however, Ferdowsi also operated in order to give legitimacy, through his myth, also to the ruling dynasty of the Ajanic Padishahs, who could claim to be direct descendants of Jahan, while the Ajanic aristocracy (the famous tarkhans) could easily trace its origin among the ranks of the most fearsome Ajanic warriors who chose to side with the young god during his conquest. The influence of the Song, and its success in providing this triple form of legitimacy, was so great that even the Antanaresian conquerors of the XVI century had to confront themselves with such a tradition, ending in assimilating it, adapting to their own purposes. At the end of this assimilation process, a Sigismund Heinrich II could even claim that his right to rule over Tarajan as king came directly from the ancient Shahs (and thus, from Jahan itself), through the marriage of his ancestor Sigismund Van Vinkel with an Ajanic princess, a claim House Van Vinkel always used at its advantage when confronting its Ajanic subjects, even in recent times (during the Tarajani Civil War, King Conrad III used the Jahan's connection to rally most of his Ajanic supporters). Content The Song is divided into two main parts, each made of three chapters (or acts). The first part focuses on the endeavour of Kilijali, and later Yaligham, while the second one has Jahan as sole protagonist, together with Shraman. Part 1 Act I: The Deeds of Kilijali For millennia humans have lived on the hilly territories and steppe plains north of the Azure Mountains. Fierce warriors, this population is reknown for their skills at riding their fast horses and for their endless wars with the mighty giants. However, the latters have finally gained the upper hands, and the scattered tribes now verge on the edge of annhilation. In a stormy night, a lone warrior appears in front of the meeting of the tribal elders: it is a young, bearded man, with red eyes. In front of the elders, he claims he can defeat the giants. When the elders ask for his name, he refuses to answer, only saying that he will reveal his identity only after he had proven the truth of his statement. He then spent the rest of the night forging an unknown weapon. The following morning, the lone warrior reaches one of the giant's hideouts with a group of selected comrades. Once near their destination, the warrior finally reveals his weapon: a long lance, with the tip made of steel, and of a form similar to a crescent, closing on the right side. With the lance in his hand, he charges against the giants, riding his horse through their legs, severing them with the powerful steel crescent of his weapon, finally beheading each of the giants now liyng, harmless, on the ground. He returns to the elders with the heads of the slayed enemies, and his welcomed by a feasting crowd. In front of this crowd, he also finally reveals his true identity: he's Kilijali, god of war and protector of all warriors. Seeing at their brave, although desperate, deeds against the giants, he had decided to elect the northern tribes as his chosen people. Among them he'll reside, protecting them and ensuring their glory. Everyone accepts his rule as supreme king, but when Kilijali asks the elders about the name they'd like to be called with, they're undecided. Disunited until that moment, they have never had a true name. One of the elder then asks what was the name of the prodigious lance forged by god: he answers that it is called Ajan. After that, the elders decide that their people will be known a the Ajans, because everyone of them will be a weapon in the hands of their god. Act II: The God and the humble man Years have passed since Kilijali became the king and god-protector of the Ajans, and now this fierce people have finally defeated the last of the giants. The fearsome Ajanic horse-warriors, with their mighty lances, have subjugated their lands. However, Kilijali is restless. He wants to face new challenges, to prove his worth and that of his chosen people. He knows that beyond the mountains, to the south, lays a rich land, a plain full of all precious things, cultivated by a prosperous and powerful civilization. He then convenes all his comrades, announcing them his decision: they'll pass through the mountains, conquering and subjugating the lands of the south. The Ajan warriors all answer to the call of their god, and as a united army they march southward. During the march through a narrow pass among the mountains, Kilijali sees a lone figure watching the Ajans from a solitary rock: it is an old man, wearing only a few tatters. As soon as he sees the god approaching, the man raises on his legs and warns Kilijali to turn back, because he'll not find glory nor conquest in Kashair, but only the bitter taste of defeat. Outraged by such words, Kilihali asks why should he, the god of war, be afraid of the inhabitants of the south. The man answers that they're no less fearsome than the Ajans themselves, with their golden and silver phalanxes, protected by long swords and shields, and that they also have their own god fighting for them and protecting their lands: it is Arzimakil, the god-king of Muraz. But Kilijali doesn't believe in the invincibility of the southerners: he'll destroy them, and sack their cities, he says. Before moving on, however, he gives his mantle to the old man, as a protection from the cold. He'll give it back to him once he'll seat on the throne of Arzimakil. Then, he moves on, toward the south. Act III: The war of the gods Finally, the Ajans are in Kashair. They start plundering and destroying everything they encounter, and the Kashairians, alarmed by their presence, beg Arzimakil to intervene. The god-king, enraged by the suffering inflicted upon his own people, gathers a powerful army and march towards the enemy. The mighty Kashairian army and the Ajans finally meet, face to face, on the fields around the river Rudjazu. While facing each other, the mighty horse warriors of the north and the shining phalanxes of the south, Arzimakil sends a messanger, to ask to Kilijali to withdraw at once. Otherwise, he and his men will be annhilated by his wrath. Kilijali refuses, and launches his men into a great charge. The battle has begun. At first, the might of the Ajans seem to overcome the resistance of the Kashairians, but then Arzimakil, riding a great brown steed, charges against Kilijali in the midst of the battle. The two warriors thus begin an extrarodinary duel, fighting each other restlessly for three days, while around them the fight continues. But Kilijali is lead by his own instincts of violence and, at the end, Arzimakil is able to crush Kilijali's shield with his lance, before killing the god's horse too, leaving him on the ground. But instead of killing his enemy, Arzimakil casts upon him a mantle, the same one Kilijali had given to the old man encountered during his march southward, thus revealing that the old man was, in fact, Arzimakil himself. With this gesture, he spares Kilijali's life, but the battle is lost for the Ajans nonetheless. Bitterly defeated, scattered, and with Kilijali unconscious, the few survivors try to get back at their lands. Part 2 Act IV: The God of War and the Goddess of Beauty Kilijali is leading his few surviving comrades back through the mountains. The defeat suffered at the hands of Arzimakil is burning his heart, and he's desperate: how coudld be that the god of war has been defeated, he cries? Finally, led by his own desperation, he leaves the column, and begins to wander on the mountains, inconsolable. After days spent suffering from the cold and the harshness of the climate, Kilijali hears a song, echoing all around the place. He starts looking for the source of the beautiful melody, and finally he finds a girl, the most beautiful ever seen, standing by a small lake, singing. For a moment, all his bitterness is gone, and Kilijali feels, for the first time in his life, the need to rest, peacefully, near that lake. But it's a just a moment, and immediately after he feels again the desperation growing inside him. He decides to come forward, trying to understand the secret of that fleeting moment of peace he just experienced. The young girl sees him and, apparently not scared at all by the appearance of the stranger, she moves toward him, asking what is the reason for his desperation and bitterness. Kilijali is surprised that she knows what's passing in his mind, and asks for her identity. She answers that her name is Yaligham, lady of beauty and all the arts, and that she inhabits the mountains since her birth, because only there she can find the peace she needs in order to appreciate beauty and create. However, she's startled as well, because she never had created anything at all. Kilijali then tells her the story of his life, of his reign over the Ajans, and his encounter with Arzimakil, ending by stating that his desperation arises from the fact he cannot understand how he was defeated. The two gods stand silent near the lake, but when thirst takes them, leading them to drink, seeing each other reflected into the water, they realize the truth: that the reason for their sense of frustration and their failures is that they needed each other to be complete. Kilijali is the first to understand, and he declares to Yaligham that he will never leave her: indeed, she can give form to his instincts through art, cunning, and beauty, transforming amorphous violence into the art of war; Yaligham understands as well, and she declares the same to Kilijali: indeed, he will give her the passion she needs to finally create something out of beauty and art. The two gods then spend the night together, giving birth to their son, Jahan (literally: the Universe) the one who'll combine both his father's and his mother's qualities to reach the Entirety of Being. Act V: Jahan's Endeavours Jahan, moved by passion, desire, and his quest for beauty, travels all around the world. Still a young man, he finally comes to Kashair. There, he's astounded by the beauty of the land, and of its cities, and decides to reach Muraz, the most beautiful city on the world. A handsome and clever man, Jahan receives a warm welcome at the court of Arzimakil, without knowing that he's the one responsible for the defeat of his father. The god-king of Muraz, however, is well aware of the identity of his guest: but he knows that there's more in Jahan than in Kilijali, and he hopes to lead the boy on the path of balance between the two sides of his soul. At the royal palace, Jahan meets Shraman, the beautiful daughter of Arzimakil, and desperately falls in love with her. The two youngs then begin to see each other in secret, in a hidden spot of the Hanging Gardens of the palace, only at night. They always perform the same sort of ritual: at every meeting, Jahan tells Shraman one tale about his journeys; then, when full moon is on the sky, it is Shraman's turn to tell a story about herself or her people, which ideally summarize the lessons learnt by Jahan, before a new cycle begins, with a new round of stories, and a new meaning to uncover. Soon, however, Arzimakil discovers the truth about the two young lovers. At first, he's enraged, and moves to meet them at their meeting spot. However, along the route, he hears the waves of the river Maha: stunned by the beauty of the sound, now resembling a melody, he stands on the terrace, and he can now hears the river talking to him, begging Arzimakil of giving a chance to Jahan to win Shraman's hand, as he has already done with her heart. Arzimakil accepts, but then the river warns him that he has not to push too much his will to protect Shraman from the outside world, nor hide the truth from Jahan, because otherwise doom will come upon all his world. Arzimakil says he understands those words, and that he'll do his best to tell Jahan about his true identity, when he'll achieved the balance he needs to accept the legacies of both his parents. The next day, the god-king convenes Jahan to his throne room where, in front of the whole Court, and particularly of Shraman, he declares that he knows their secrets, but that he'll not oppose their love, if Jahan accepts to prove his worth. Jahan gladly accepts the offer: he'll take every challenge Arzimakil will submit to him. However, the true goal of the king is to let Jahan discover what he's truly capable of achieving, particularly his ability in the field of the arts and in the creation of beauty. That's why every challenge requires a mix of strength, cleverness, and creativity, to be overcome. The first challenge requires Jahan to transform a sterile land not far from the mountains into a fertile country. To achieve this, Jahan at first thinks he could break a wall of rock on a nearby mountain lake. However, that would only flood the whole place, without achieving the goal. Thus, he decides to create first a whole net of channels, and finally he let the waters of the lake fill them. The land soon becomes prosperous, and the first challenge is thus overcome. The second challenge requires the young man to take a precious stone hidden inside a sphere of glass, without breaking it. After hours of trying Jahan, frustrated, is almost going to accept defeat, when the presence of Shraman inspires him: he then melts a portion of the sphere, retrieving the stone and presenting it to Arzimakil. The god-king is almost ready to accept that Jahan is finally ready, but his protective instincts toward his daughter, and the fear that Jahan could avenge his father should he know the truth, leads him to propose a final challenge to the man: he'll have to the defeat the mighty dragon Zahhak, who lives in a cave along the river Muktil. Nobody ever defeated Zahhak, but Jahan accepts nonetheless: after saying goodbye to a desperate Shraman, he rides until he finds the dragon's hideout. Once in the cave, Jahan faces the dragon: they began to duel but soon the man understands that it is not by force that he'll defeat Zahhak. He feigns a retreat, simulating his fear of the monster: seeing the warrior escaping, Zahhak falls prey to its own pride, and moves outside of his hideout. But there, Jahan waits for him: with a polished mirror reflecting the sun rays he blinds Zahhak, and then struck it to death. Just few moments before passing away, however, Zahhak admits to Jahan that it is honourable to be defeated by the son of Kilijali himself. Jahan is shocked of being labelled as such, and asks more: this way, Zahhak tells him of Kilijali and of the terrible defeat suffered from Arzimakil. Then, the monster finally dies. Jahan is shocked by what he heard. He wonders for days, before deciding to ride back to Muraz; however, once in sight of city's walls, he turns back, heading for the mountains. After months, he finally reaches the north, the lands of the Ajans, meeting the people of his father. Act VI: The Wrath of Jahan Once among the Ajans, Jahan doesn't need much effort to demonstrate he's the son of Jahan. The Ajanic warriors rejoice that their god finally sent them a successor, and crowns him as their lord, as they had done with Kilijali before. But Jahan has already a goal set in mind: oblivious of the life he spent in Muraz, and of his love for Shraman, he only wishes to avenge his father's defeat. He then gathers once again a mighty Ajanic army, and march southward. In Kashair, the invading Ajans starts plundering and destroying everything they encounter, and once again Arzimakil has to take the field against them. Shraman is left in Muraz, but, standing on his palace terrace, she hears the waves of Maha talking to her, as they did to her father. Maha unveils to Shraman the identity of the Ajans new lord, also adding that the only hope for the whole land not to be reduced to an everlasting desert is to remind Jahan of his love for the princess. Shraman, devastated, decides nonetheless to attempt to save her land, her people, and Jahan himself. She leaves in the night, and rides to the Ajanic camp, protected by Maha's magic. Sneaking into Jahan's tent, she finally confronts his lover, begging him to end the war, to make peace with Arzimakil, and to return with her in Muraz, where they'll finally live together. But Jahan is blinded by wrath, and strucks Shraman in the face, ordering her to leave at once, or suffer the consequences. Crying, and with the hear broken, Shraman leaves. The next day, at dawn, the Ajanic army confronts the Kashairians: the battle is long and terrible, but as it happened in the past, once again Jahan finds himself facing Arzimakil in person. The god-king expresses his sorrow in having to fight against Jahan, but he doesn't care: he'll avenge his father. The duel lasts for three days. At the end, Jahan strikes against Arzimakil's head, breaking his elm, and finally killing him. With the Kashairian army destroyed, the Ajans destroy everything that's left, finally reaching Muraz: the city is razed to the ground, the population exterminated. The whole of Kashair becomes a desert, because Jahan doesn't care even about conquest. Shraman, instead, flies away, in the sea, and nobody will see her again. But when Jahan, thirsty, takes a sip from the river Maha, now drying up, his wrath finally goes away: what is left, are its consequences, and Jahan's consciousness of what he has done. Desperate to see he had destroyed the noble Kashairians, and that he'll never see Shraman again, he leads the Ajans east of Kashair, establishing a new city on the same site of Zahhak's hideout. In that new city, which will later be called Astana, he settles the Ajans, teaching them all that he learnt while in Muraz: they will not be anymore primitive warriors, but the true heirs of an higher civilization. After having completed his task, he finally leaves, on a full moon night, to search for Shraman all around the world. Legacy The Song of Jahan heavily influenced not only Ajanic literature and music, but also the successive Tarajani ones. Particularly in the XIX century, Romanticism began a true work of recovery of ancient Ajanic traditions, and the Song soon became a paradigm in its reinterpretation by poets, composers, painters, and sculptors. Johann Van Goethe wrote an anthology of poems dedicated to the story between 1778 and 1789, while the Antanaresian composer Rimskij-Korsakov transformed it into a full-fledged opera. Legends soon arose around the fate of Shraman: the most common opinion was that she fled to what are now known (precisely for this reason) the Shraman Islands; however, it was also believed that the islands were only a temporary step in a longer journey: a legend from the XIV century, indeed, commonly known as the Song of Shraman, described the whole trip, and the young girl is told to finally arive in a paradisiac archipelago at the center of the world. In the XVII century, Tarajani explorers who first found the Meisjegronden archipelago called it that way (in Tarajani Dutch it means "Green Maiden") precisely because those islands reminded those where Shraman finally found refuge. Category:New Tarajan Category:Religion